MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (PROF. K.V. THOMAS)
(a) to (c): As reported by Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, the
total number of Below Poverty Line (BPL) including Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) card holders in
Delhi is 363581. It has been further reported that bio-metric machines have been used for
preparation of fresh Above Poverty Line (APL) cards and review of existing BPL/AAY cards.
During the bio-metric review of ration cards in 2010, 50534 BPL including AAY cardholders did
not turn up for bio-metric identification. The supplies of Specified Food Articles against
these cards have been stopped by the Government of NCT of Delhi.
(d) & (e): As reported by Government of NCT of Delhi, no instance of tampering of said
machines by Fair Price Shop owners has come to the notice of the State Government.
(f): Government of India has taken up the computerization of Targeted Public Distribution
System (TPDS) in a phased manner to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the TPDS. In
the first phase, the scheme on Computerization of TPDS Operations had been approved to be
implemented on pilot basis in three districts each of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and
Delhi. A pilot scheme on Smart Card based delivery of essential commodities had been initiated
in Chandigarh UT and Haryana.  Under the scheme, existing ration cards were to be replaced by
Smart Cards. After assessment of the pilot schemes, a scheme for remaining States/UTs shall be
taken up.
